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POPE-BISHOPS Jun-24-2004 (700 words) xxxi
Catholic colleges, hospitals must show Catholic identity, pope says
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Meeting with bishops from the U.S. Northwest, Pope John Paul II said Catholic schools and health care facilities must give "convincing witness" to church teachings -- especially on such key issues as respect for human life, marriage and the family.
The church's many religious, educational and charitable institutions "exist for one reason only: to proclaim the Gospel," the pope said June 24.
"It is of utmost importance, therefore, that the church's institutions be genuinely Catholic: Catholic in their self-understanding and Catholic in their identity," he said.
The pope was addressing 11 bishops from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, who were on their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican. The visits are required of bishops every five years to report on the status of their dioceses.
The pope's speech touched on some sensitive points of debate in the United States, including academic freedom at Catholic universities and the potential strings attached to state funding of church-run hospitals.
The pope said the church's social and cultural activities cannot be divorced from its main task of evangelization. All Catholics organizations, he said, must witness to the faith as they operate in a pluralistic society.
He said even non-Catholics who work for such institutions should show "sincere and respectful appreciation" of the church's evangelizing mission, which is at the core of all its activities.
That requires new and creative emphasis on Catholic identity, he said.
"The church's many institutions in the United States -- schools, universities, hospitals and charitable agencies -- must not only assist the faithful to think and act fully in accordance with the Gospel, overcoming every separation between faith and life, but they must themselves embody a clear corporate testimony to its saving truth," he said.
"This will demand constantly re-examining their priorities in the light of their mission and offering a convincing witness, within a pluralistic society, to the church's teaching, particularly on respect for human life, marriage and family, and the right ordering of public life," he said.
Catholic universities have a crucial role "at the forefront of the church's dialogue with culture," the pope said. But they cannot effectively contribute to the church's evangelization effort unless they clearly preserve and foster their Catholic identity, he said.
"This means that the content of the education they impart should make constant reference to Jesus Christ and his message as the church presents it in her dogmatic and moral teaching," he said.
The pope found much to praise about church-run hospitals and other health facilities in the United States.
"The many initiatives of American Catholics on behalf of the elderly, the sick and the needy -- through nursing homes, hospitals, clinics and various relief and assistance centers -- have always been, and continue to be, an eloquent witness to the faith, hope and love which must mark the life of every disciple of the Lord," he said.
He credited generations of U.S. religious and lay Catholics for building up this important network of health care and in the process bearing "outstanding testimony to Christ, the healer of bodies and souls, and to the dignity of the human person."
But the pope said this commitment to the church's basic teachings must not be undermined by financial or other difficulties.
"The significant challenges facing these institutions in changing social and economic circumstances must not be allowed to weaken this corporate witness," he said.
"Established policies in complete conformity with the church's moral teaching need to be firmly in place in Catholic health care facilities," he said.
In recent years, some church leaders have warned that the future of U.S. Catholic hospitals is threatened by efforts to end their access to public funds unless they provide services such as contraception and abortion, which violate church teachings.
The pope expressed his gratitude for the "devoted work of countless priests, religious and lay people" in maintaining church-run secondary and elementary schools in the United States. These schools have contributed much to U.S. society as a whole, he said.
He also encouraged the bishops to "make every effort to ensure that, despite financial difficulties, a Catholic education remains available to the poor and the less-privileged in society."
END
Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service.
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